My Motto

Sometimes I'm strong
And I can take charge of my day
I can change my circumstances
To go my way
Sometimes I'm strong
And my will to manipulate
Is terse yet.strong
But today I am wrong

Sometimes I'm strong
Because people think I don't cry
No-that's not dust
And no-that's no eyelash in my eye

Sometimes I'm strong
Because of my optimism
But I don't take that road less traveled
Sometimes I want to fit in
When I feel these feelings
I'm only reminded so
That, "I am only human,"
And this is my motto

PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK OF POETRY

Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”